All This Time
by Writing4MySoul
Summary: Sophie Carter's a tattoo artist who used to be known by the world as the heroine Atlas. After hanging up the cape (figuratively speaking), she never expected to be needed again. But with the formation of the Justice League, Atlas is called back to the war she wasn't sure was worth fighting anymore. But in meeting people like J'onn, Sophie will find hope once more.


_**As a quick side not before we get started: even though this takes place in the JL/JLU universe, I'm picturing Christian Bale as Batman, and Henry Cavill as Superman. Thank you.**_

 **~*ATT*~**

The buzz of the tattoo gun under her left hand immediately relaxed Sophie Carter as she continued to ink an anatomical heart on her boss' skin. Percy had just celebrated his ten-year anniversary with his partner Lukas, so he decided to get the tattoo over his actual heart in Lukas' favorite color, blue. Sophie thought it was a sweet gesture, already knowing those two would last until the end.

Sophie Carter was born with blonde hair and violet eyes. People always assumed it was contacts. Nobody believed her when she said they were her actual eye color. Doctors were baffled, want to perform different tests on her. Fortunately her mother was stubborn, having Dad wheel her out after flipping the doctors off and telling them to shove it up their asses. Mom always told her that her eyes were a blessing, and Sophie believed her. Her mother was the first person she told when she decided that she would be a tattoo artist once she finished high school, aiming to get her license before her twenty-first birthday. Though they didn't get to live long enough to see her live her dream job, Sophie knew from the bottom of her heart that her parents would've been proud. At least her grandparents told her as such before they passed as well. Sophie was finishing the last of the lines as she felt the beginnings of a "headache" building at the base of her skull. Knowing that she would see something most likely horrifying soon, Sophie turned off and put down the irons, mumbling something like "bathroom" before rushing down the hall. Opening the door to the right, Sophie locked it and sank to the floor.

 _Suddenly she sees Bruce as his Batman persona standing over an alien figure, surrounded by indistinguishable characters. Sophie can't move, staring at the alien. His skin is green, his physique leaner than most humans, and yet something about him was calling to her. Unlike her previous visions, the alien turned to look her square in the eye. "_ Sophie _," he said, his voice somber, as if resigned to his fate―_

Sophie gasped, surprised to find tears streaking down her face. Pulling out her phone, she looked to see that she only had ten minutes left in her shift. Taking a deep breath, Sophie got up and went to the sink to splash water on her face. Once she did that, Sophie became resigned to the fact that Atlas would return tonight. And Sophie was not looking forward to it.

 **~*ATT*~**

Landing at the army base, Batman and Atlas disembark from the Batwing. "Is this what you saw in your vision?" Batman asked, observing the area. Atlas shrugged, following her friend when he entered the main building through the giant hole in the wall she just made for him. Warily looking around, Batman stopped suddenly, looking from left to right before following his instincts and going left. Atlas followed silently, trusting Batman's intuition. It'd saved their lives on more than one occasion. Opening the rusted door, the duo gasped in horror at the red pods that took up all the space. _Pod people are real!_ Atlas' shocked brain supplied. Batman walked over to one of the pods to observe it while Atlas felt a pull, tugging her out of the room and down the hall until she came upon a giant metal doors. Calling upon ancient magic to give her strength, Atlas began to pound at the doors, desperate to get to whatever was on the other side. "Usually destroying government property isn't your style," Batman commented. Atlas wasn't even bothered by his disappearing/reappearing trick anymore.

"I know, but someone's calling me," Atlas told him, her Southern accent bleeding through in the comfort of his prescence. One more well-placed kick had the door crumbling like a soda can. Entering the room, they saw all the monitors that were running. Not even sparing them a glance, Atlas continued forward until she came upon another door. Flicking her wrist, the door disappeared and reappeared somewhere behind them, the thud resonating through the room. Atlas pushed her way in, she felt a strong surge to punch something as she saw the man from her vision hooked up to a bunch of monitors.

"What is it?" Batman asked, allowing some curiosity to slip in front of his old friend.

Atlas took a deep breath before letting it out. "He's our last hope against that alien invasion you told me about," she said, walking to the control panel. "Ελευθέρωση **(Release)** ," Atlas mumbled, white tendrils coming from her hand and bypassing the access codes to release the man. When he was freed, he fell forward after not having to bear his weight for so long. Atlas managed to catch him, gently helping him to kneel on the floor. "Are you okay?" she asked. The alien nodded, taking a moment to compose himself.

"What's he doing here?" Batman asked.

 _ **The invasion,**_ the alien telepathically told them. Batman flinched, causing Atlas to smirk at the Caped Crusader. **_I came to warn you,_** he continued, ** _but I was captured and imprisoned here. They wouldn't listen._**

"Big surprise," Batman mumbled sarcastically.

 ** _I sense you do not trust me,_** the alien said to Batman, not offended but curious. **_Perhaps this will help._** Suddenly the alien's true form bled away into a more humanoid-shaped creature. He now wore a black body-suit with red marking throughout. Two red lines came across his chest, resembling an "X". He also had a blue cape, much to Atlas' amusement. Batman took a step back. Atlas rolled her eyes, giving the alien a reassuring smile. Holding out his hand to Batman, the alien said, "I am J'onn J'onzz."

Batman didn't move forward to shake hands, only staring at J'onn. "Sorry about him," Atlas told J'onn, causing him to drop his hand. "He doesn't trust a lot of people."

J'onn nodded. "A wise policy."

Atlas scoffed. "Great, another one," she said. "What is it that's attacking, and what do they want with us?"

J'onn's expression did not change, though Atlas felt his grief. _He doesn't realize I'm an empath_ , she noted. "On my home world of Mars, there were two species of Martian: the green, and the white. There were many more of my subspecies than theirs. They were far more aggressive than many of the natives. After nearly two-thousand years of peace, they began a civil war." Batman had wandered off to finish his surveillance of the base, leaving only Atlas to hear the story. "They destroyed Mars, leaving only a barren wasteland... and one survivor."

Atlas placed a hand on his shoulder. **_I share your grief,_** she told him telepathically, smirking when she felt his surprise. **_You aren't the only telepath, but I am capable of so much more._** "Is there any way to stop them?" she asked as they walked back the way she originally came (minus the doors).

"We developed a nerve gas that would paralyze them, but we cannot recreate it. We do not have the materials needed, which could only be found on Mars."

The superheroine sighed, rubbing a hand down her face. "Well, this isn't the first time that things have seemed hopeless. I'm sure we'll figure something out."

J'onn nodded. "I hope we do. If not, your world will become as barren as mine is."

Suddenly Atlas steps in front of J'onn, blocking his path. Suddenly her entire appearance changed, melting from a black body suit and purple vest to a white crop-top and jean shorts. Her long violet hair became shorter and much lighter. Atlas held out a hand to J'onn. "Sophie." When he didn't say anything, she continued. "I figure if you're going to help me save my world, the least I can do is give you my real name, not just a code name."

A few moments passed in silence before J'onn grasped her ungloved hand. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Sophie, though I wish it were under better circumstances."

Sophie smiled sheepishly. "Ditto." They released their hands, and continued walking. "What do they want with us though?" she asked, already returning to her Atlas persona. "I can understand the civil war with you, but us? We should be insignificant to them."

J'onn shrugged. "I only know of their thirst to be superior to all other beings. They will try to make you slaves."

Batman had rejoined them at this point, not liking where this line of thinking was leading. Atlas went to reassure him, "Well, they're gonna have a hell of a time trying to―"

She was interrupted by a bright light blinding them all. "Stop right there, Atlas. You're trespassing in a restricted area. Our orders are to keep that freak here."

Atlas went to say something, but stopped short. "Oh, cut the crap. I know what you are. If you want to be convincing, you may wanna relearn how to block your thoughts, cuz you're bleeding all over the place."

The soldiers seemed surprised, but their leader only smirked. "We heard of your powers, Atlas. They are far more impressive than we thought," he said, transforming into his true form.

"I tend to hear that a lot," Atlas commented, lunging at her opponent. If J'onn was their last hope against the White Martians, Atlas would stop at nothing to ensure that humanity would live on. Earth's attacker was swift in his movements, moving out of the way as he began shooting at her. "Ασπίδα τους! **(Shield them!)** " Atlas shouted, quickly erecting a shield around the others. Unfortunately she wasn't enough, allowing a blast to hit her square in the chest. Though it did no damage to her, it was powerful enough that it pushed her through a few walls. Sounds ringing through her ears, she heard Batman and J'onn yelling. Staggering to her feets, she flew outside to see Batman standing over a wounded J'onn, surrounded by White Martians. Atlas felt her stomach drop, images from her vision flashing through her mind. J'onn looked up at her, not speaking. _No,_ Sophie thought, _I will not let another person die. Not when I can stop it!_ "Ο Δίας, ο δανεισμός μου το φως σου! **(Zeus, lend me your light!)** " Clouds began to swirl overhead, lighting striking mere feet from Batman. **_Go! Get him to safety,_** she told Batman, using her psionic abilities to lift a tank at the Martians. Batman led J'onn over to the Batwing, safely securing him in the passenger's seat. Atlas watched the Batwing take off, relief washing through her. _Now that they're safe, I can have some fun._

 _ **We are not safe yet.**_ Look, Atlas heard J'onn think, now seeing the swarm of air vehicles heading towards the Batwing. They began to shoot, Batman skillfully dodging their shots. Atlas couldn't really help at the moment, fighting off the hoard of White Martians that appeared. After a few minutes of using spells to throw her opponents off, Atlas heard one of the wings of Batman's craft rip off. Before she could even move, a green catcher's mitt seemed to manifest out of nowhere, easily catching the Batwing.

"Figured you could use a hand", Atlas heard Superman say to her as he flew in, shooting the aliens with his heat vision. This caused them to retreat slightly at the extreme warmth they nearly felt sear them. Atlas smiled, glad that Superman not only got her message, but decided to bring backup as well.

The green glove set the Batwing down on a nearby cliff, disappearing when it was no longer needed. Atlas had heard about the Green Lantern, but never met him since he appeared after she was no longer Atlas. She flew into the air when a red streak appeared, letting her know that The Flash had things taken care of on the ground. J'onn phased though the Batwing, meeting with Green Lantern, Atlas and Superman in the air. "How is it that you always manage to get in trouble, Atlas or not?" Superman asked, smiling at Atlas.

Atlas rolled her eyes underneath the mask, knowing it couldn't been seen due to the white that covered her purple eyes. "It's a gift," she deadpanned before flying towards one of the ships.

"Sorry I'm late, Supes, but there was an uprising near Rigel IX," she heard Green Lantern say before the others joined her. Atlas decided to use her magic to bring down the ships without causing too much damage to the person inside. Despite what they were trying to do to her home, Atlas would not kill them. _Maiming_ on the other hand...

One lucky shot managed to throw Atlas into a mountain, with her landing on a small ledge. Before she could get up, a woman with an American-themed outfit landed in front of her. "Allow me," she said, watching as the ship barred down on both of them. The mysterious woman was able to easily deflect the blasts with her bracelets, impressing Atlas. A few of the shots fired back at the ship, destroying it. Atlas raised a hand to shield them as the ship came crashing into the mountain. She released it when the ship had disintegrated, standing besides the newcomer.

"Who's the newbie with the spanks?" Green Lantern asked Superman as the Man of Steel lifted one of the alien crafts.

"I'm not sure," he said, sounding strained. Atlas rolled her eyes, flying over towards Batman, the other woman following her. The others flew there as well, The Flash already waiting for them with Batman. "I think you dropped this," Atlas heard the Flash say. Atlas laughed as she landed, earning her a Bat-Glare ©. "Who are you?" Superman asked. "Where did you come from?"

"Themyscira," the woman answered.

While no one else knew what that meant, Atlas' eyes widened when she realized who they were in the company of. "πριγκίπισσα μου, είμαι τίμησε με την παρουσία σας **(My princess, I am honored by your presence)** ," she said, bowing to Princess Diana. The others seemed surprised by her sudden change of behavior, but Atlas continued. "Είμαι Sophie, εγγονή της Ανδρομέδας. Είμαι ένας από τους τελευταίους ιέρειες της Εστίας, και είμαι ευγνώμων που μας έχουν ενταχθεί στη μάχη. **I am Sophie, granddaughter of Andromeda. I am one of the last priestesses of Hestia, and I am grateful that you have joined us in battle.)** "

Diana smiled before bowing as well. "Εγώ θα πρέπει να υποκύπτει σε εσάς, εγγονή της Ανδρομέδας. **(It is I who should be bowing to you, granddaughter of Andromeda.)** "

Atlas smiled before standing straight once more. "This is Diana, goddess of war and daughter of Zeus. I was been raised to believe in the Greek gods, so this is an honor."

"Please, treat me as you would anyone else," Diana asked.

"Anything you say, baby," Green Lantern said, causing Superman to elbow him in the stomach. "But seriously. After dealing with a fuckton of species over the past few years, I've learned to roll with many things. So can someone tell me what's going on here?"

Everyone looked at J'onn. Atlas could sense his unease, so she decided to take the focus off of him. "How about I explain it while J'onn helps Superman repair the Batwing? Should be a pretty simple fix." Superman nodded, grabbing the piece of the plane from Flash while J'onn sent a wave of gratefulness towards Atlas. She shrugged it off, repeating the story he told her earlier as Superman heated the wing back to the Batwing while also filling in the gaps J'onn was telepathically telling her as he helped Superman. "So, he came here to warn us when he was captured by the White Martians," Atlas concluded, Superman and J'onn rejoining them.

"Wait, wait, wait. There was nothing said about finding life on Mars," Green Lantern said.

"Someone higher in the government thought the public didn't need to know," Batman said.

"And probably why they disabled the deep-space monitoring network that was set up," Atlas chimed in. "They didn't want us to be ready. Probably had people infiltrate different governments. They can shape-shift too, right?" J'onn nodded. Atlas sighed. "And one of the only things that could stop them is now gone forever. Great."

"Then how do we stop them?" Green Lantern asked.

Atlas tuned them out, sensing out the world to see where the other asteroids had landed. She looked to Metropolis when she saw a device being built. "Atlas!" Batman called, snapping her from her trance. "What did you see?"

Atlas bit her lip. "I was looking around the world to see where else they had landed―"

"You can do that?!" Flash asked, excited.

Atlas smiled. "There's a lot of things I can do. I'll explain later. Anyway, it looks like they're building some sort of smoke machine." Thinking for a moment, she turned to J'onn and asked, "Are they sensitive to sunlight?"

J'onn shook his head. "Not to my knowledge, though they did attack mostly at nighttime."

"Then we got them!" Atlas said, excited. "They can't attack during the day, so they either do it at night or when it's cloudy. If we can destroy those machines, they'll be vulnerable to the sunlight. If they're vulnerable..." she trailed off.

"In order to take them out, we'll need to split into teams. Atlas, are there any other machines?" Batman asked.

Atlas searched the world for others like it. "Besides the one in Metropolis, there's another in Yosemite and Giza."

"Diana, you go with Superman to Metropolis. Flash and Green Lantern, Yosemite. J'onn, Atlas and I will go to Giza. When we're done, we meet back in Metropolis. Understood?"

"Sir, yes sir," Atlas mock-saluted, already in the air.

 **~*ATT*~**

Batman looked around while Atlas and J'onn waited patiently. One of the walkers came by, causing Batman to hide back in the shadows. "You done yet?" Atlas asked from her spot against a stone pillar.

"They must have a weakness," Batman mumbled to himself. "Look for any openings, you two."

Atlas huffed. She looked at J'onn. "I'll look psychically, you look physically?"

J'onn nodded, phasing through the ground. **_I hope you realize how cool that is,_** Atlas told him as she did a mental sweep around the area. "I don't sense any openings." J'onn returned a few minutes later with the same news. "Guess we'll have to make our own, then," she said, flying towards one of the walkers.

"Wait," she heard Batman tell J'onn, "let her do what she wants." Atlas smirked before catching the eye of one of the walkers. She used the sand as her strength, blocking the view of the rover as she ripped one of its legs off, causing it to fall. It created a large hole on the side of the machine. Atlas flew over to the others, grabbing Batman around the waist. "Good enough?"

Batman smirked. "I suppose."

Atlas scoffed, flying back with J'onn at her heels. They were immediately attacked when they entered, Atlas creating a barrier as she set Batman down. As they ran away, Atlas dropped her shields before throwing a light spell at the White Martians, causing them to screech as they retreated. The three heroes followed the Martians to a wider space, hiding behind a wall as they were fired upon."We're blocked again! Got any ideas?" Atlas asked, looking to Batman, then J'onn. That's when she noticed he was in a trance-like state. **_J'onn! What's wrong?_**

"Superman and Diana have been captured, and Flash and Green Lantern are retreating. They have failed," he said once he came back from his mind. "We must retreat. They have figured out our plans. This way." As he lead Batman and Atlas through the maze of multi-colored tunnels, they noticed that each entrance they passed through began to close themselves off. As they entered through one tunnel, however, an entrance opened to reveal three White Martians firing at them. Atlas grabbed Batman as J'onn led them to a higher subtunnel. Atlas stayed back to check to make sure they lost their chasers as Batman grabbed his electric knucklebusters. "Look, it is the central core," J'onn said. Atlas' jaw almost popped open at the sight before her: to her, it looked like a nervous system, axons leading to different cells. Though dangerous, Atlas couldn't help but see a beauty in it.

"How can we shut it down?" Batman asked.

"The ion matrix crystal," J'onn answered, pointing to a 'cell' with a crystal inside it. "If we can remove that, we'll shut down the whole plant. I'll need a diversion."

"You've got it," Batman said as he threw a Batarang through an 'axon', causing it bleed a dark red substance. Atlas created a storm surrounding the crystal, giving plenty of coverage for J'onn. He phased through the floor as Batman and Atlas were shot at. Atlas dodged all the shots while Batman launched himself at a White Martian, punching him in the face with his knuckles. As they continued to fight, J'onn managed to grab the crystal before getting shot in the back. He fell, landing several feet from Batman. The Dark Knight rushed over to his fallen comrade, protecting him from the others. "We need to get him out, now!"

Atlas nodded, rushing to Batman's aid. He handed her the knuckles as he lifted J'onn arm over his shoulder before he began to walk him to an exit. One of the aliens pulled a switch, closing the exit. Before it fully closed, Atlas pushed Batman and J'onn through, sealing herself inside the chamber with the crystal and the White Martians. Atlas heard Batman shout her name before a group of the Martians began firing at her.

 **~*ATT*~**

Green Lantern, Flash, Batman and J'onn were silent as they watched Metropolis erupt into total anarchy. Green Lantern flew off for a few moments to help move some debris that was trapping two small children. "Besides helping civilians when needed, our main priority is to free Diana and Superman. Without them, our numbers will not be sufficient enough to handle the Martian forces," Batman said.

"And Atlas?" Flash asked.

J'onn bowed his head. "She fought until the very end," Batman replied in an impertinent tone. He practically felt everyone staring at him.

"She was your friend!" Green Lantern shouted.

"I knew her best, and I knew she would want us to carry out our mission first before allowing ourselves to grieve," Batman replied. _I cannot allow myself to grieve. Sophie would never forgive me if I stopped now._ "Flash, we need you to create a distraction while Green Lantern, J'onn and I infiltrate the machine."

"On it," Flash said, already running to distract one of the walkers while Green Lantern and J'onn flew towards the cloud-machine. Batman grabbed a grappling hook from his belt and aimed it at the machine before launching himself towards it. The three men snuck in through a hole made earlier by Superman and Diana. Batman once again grappled himself there, landing on the jagged edge. As they made their way through the passages, J'onn led them to where their comrades were being held. Batman allowed himself to reflect on how Sophie didn't want to become a vigilante again. She loved to help others, so it never made sense to him why―

His thoughts were interrupted by Flash stopping him from walking any further. They all leaned back against the wall. "Wait here," J'onn said, as he shifted into a White Martian. He said something to them in their native tongue, leading them to where the others were. Batman watched in fascination as J'onn phased his arms through their enemy's chest, knocking them unconcious. "Come."

They continue to follow him though the colorful labyrinth until they came upon a blank wall. While Green Lantern used his ring to cut a hole through the tough material, Batman looked at his surroundings. This was way too easy... When Green Lantern had created the opening, they were horrified to see Superman and Diana hanging from the ceiling by their feet. Green Lantern walked swiftly over to Diana, determined to get her down quickly. "Wait―" Batman said, as Green Lantern tried to get her down. Suddenly their eyes opened, revealing blood red eyes. The entryway closed up behind them, sealing them in. "J'onn, get out of here!" Batman yelled as a rusty-colored fog began to penetrate the room. Soon, everyone in the room was unconscious, and prisoners of the White Martians.

 **~*ATT*~**

When the Caped Crusader woke up sometime later, it was to being bound by hand and foot in a stone-type material. Batman was surprised to find himself separated from the others, considering the White Martians were so hell-bent on killing J'onn. They were all speaking in their native tongue, gesturing to Batman frequently. Superman shouted for the others to wake up, all of them groaning as they slowly came to. "None of you should have risked your lives for us," Superman said.

"Like you would have done any differently for us," Batman shouted.

It was then the others noticed that he was being kept away from the others. "What the hell do they want with you?" Green Lantern asked as he struggled with his binds.

"If I knew, I wouldn't be here. I must have some information that they want," Batman said, forcing his body to relax to their latest predicament.

"That would be correct, Batman," said a figure from the shadows. When he entered the light, it was revealed to be Senator J.A. Carter. Superman cursed, causing 'Carter' to smirk. "A shame that the real Carter never made it back from Mars."

"And you used me to weaken Earth's defenses," Superman spat as he tried vainly to free himself.

"You were so eager to cooperate," the alien said, relishing in Superman's disgust. "Thanks to you, the humans were completely helpless against us"

"This isn't over yet," Green Lantern shouted.

"Oh, but it is," he said, transforming until he resembled J'onn's true form. Batman heard J'onn gasp, muttering something in Martian. "Did you miss me, J'onn?"

"Ma'alefa'ak?! How― you are supposed to be dead!" J'onn said, voice cracking.

"Yes, well, I have never quite fit into the standards of our people, now did I?" Ma'alefa'ak responded, circling around Batman as his gaze never left J'onn. "It was rather satisfying to watch those who treated me as a pariah burn."

Everyone's blood ran cold as they realized what exactly it was Ma'alefa'ak had just admitted to doing. "Did you... sell out our people to the White Martians, brother?" J'onn asked.

"I AM NOT YOUR BROTHER!" Ma'alefa'ak shouted, before quickly composing himself. "Besides, they were _your_ people, not mine. Not after what they did to me. Did you think I wouldn't remember what you had done to me?"

"You hurt my wife!" J'onn shouted, unadulterated anger and pain in his voice. "You hurt her in a way that our abilities were never meant to do."

"Because you couldn't, as the humans say, 'think outside the box'," Ma'alefa'ak replied. "All of you were blinded by peace, never realizing our true powers: ruling over those who will destroy themselves without our guidance. Now," he said, turning to Batman, "unfortunately, our best agents were unable to infiltrate Earth's most powerful governments. We were able to learn, however, that if you needed information, the Batman would surely have it." He grabbed Batman's chin, roughly yanking his face until he stared into cold, remorseless eyes. "You will give me what I want, or else watch as your friends die one by one... starting with the Lantern."

Before Batman could form a response, he saw a flash of violet from the corner of his eye, causing him to chuckle. Ma'alefa'ak growled at his response. "I would be more worried about her if I were you," Bruce said.

Ma'alefa'ak opened his mouth to respond, but was yanked away from Batman by a black hand. Atlas smirked at the Martian before punching him in the face, causing him to fall to the next floor. "I'm a lot harder to kill than that, douchebag," she said, her Southern accent bleeding through for the first time since she introduced herself to J'onn. "Sorry I'm late, but I was a little busy kicking ass and taking names." She walked towards Batman, smirking as she took off one of her gloves and touched the unknown material binding him. **_You should know by now, Bruce, that assuming makes an ass out of you and me,_** she told him. "Gimme a minute, and I'll have you guys free."

"How?!" Ma'alefa'ak exclaimed, rising up until he was the same level as Batman and Atlas.

Atlas turned to him. "Easy. I shielded myself physically and mentally from you. Since no one knew I was alive, you were pretty easy to infiltrate. By the way, you may want to be more worried about your little crystal thing instead of me."

Ma'alefa'ak turned to the ion matrix as it began to change from a red hue to a blue. "Destroy it, now!" he yelled to his minions. When this was ineffective, he returned his harsh gaze to Atlas. "What did you do?!" he shouted.

"I reversed the ion charge," Atlas simply said as her powers finally understood the material trapping her colleagues. It removed itself from Batman before launching itself at Ma'alefa'ak, trapping him as he once again fell. "Hafta admit, this stuff's pretty cool," Atlas commented as it melted away from the others, flying towards her. It stopped a few inches from her, melting in on itself before becoming a small compact disk. Atlas grabbed it out of midair and tucked it into one of the small pouches in her suit. Grabbing Batman, she and the others flew out of their prison as a blue light flew towards the sky, breaking apart the cloud cover that had relentlessly covered the earth. As sunlight began to shine through the many holes in the structure, the White Martians screamed in anguish as the sun began to dissolve their bodies until they once again became the ground from which they once came.

All of them were destroyed, but one.

As Altas set Batman down beside the others, she was tackled by Ma'alefa'ak, sending them both to the ground several dozen feet away from the rest of the heroes. Superman and the others immediately went to help their fallen comrade, but Batman held up one of his hands to halt their progress. Ma'alefa'ak was on top of her, hand tight around her neck. Atlas didn't flinch at this, only looking him square in the eye and said something most people had trouble saying: "I forgive you."

Those words cause Ma'alefa'ak to freeze long enough for Atlas to get the upper hand, using her legs to throw her opponent off her. When she got to her feet again, walking to where Ma'alefa'ak was crouched. "I may not condone what you've done, but I understand it. I'm sorry, and I forgive you." When he looked up at her, she waved a hand, her spell immediately knocking him unconscious. Atlas sighed before walking over to the others. "I'll have him go somewhere where he can't hurt anyone else. But right now, what we need to do is figure out where this is gonna go."

"Where what's gonna go?" Green Lantern asked.

Atlas gestured to all of them. "This... this _justice league_ . If I'm coming back into the fight, I need to know that you'll have my back. Batman, Superman and I can't do this alone. Not anymore. So I need to know if you'll be willing to have our back or not."

"You don't need to do this, Atlas," Superman said gently, laying a hand on his friend's shoulder.

"But I do," Atlas replied fiercely. "I just put a huge target on my back. Luthor and others like him are gonna start callin' me out. I may not have had an arch-nemesis before today, but I'm damn well gonna have a fuckton as news spread of Atlas' return. And I need to know that I'm not going to be alone. I need to know that I can trust all of you."

There was a heavy silence for a moment before Flash spoke for the first time since he woke up. "I mostly work in Central City, but I wouldn't be opposed to working in a team. Get's lonely, working by yourself all the time."

Atlas smiled. "You only talk when absolutely necessary, don't you?" Flash nodded. "And I talk all the time. We're gonna get along swimmingly," she said, holding out a fist in his direction. Flash didn't hesitate to bump it with his own, smiling back at her. "Lantern? J'onn? Diana?"

"I will stay and fight," Diana said.

"As will I," J'onn vowed.

Green Lantern pursed his lips. "I'm already on a team of superheroes... but I'm sure that I can squeeze you guys in."

Superman smiled, clapping his hands together. "Excellent!"

Batman turned his gaze to Atlas. **_Since the invasion is over, now might be a good time to tell you that the Watchtower was completed a few days ago,_** he told her.

Atlas turned her head so fast Bruce was surprised she didn't have whiplash. "Why the hell didn't you say something sooner?!" Before anyone realized what was going on, they were suddenly in a different place. Green Lantern groaned. "Yeah, sorry but you may be disoriented for a few moments," Atlas mumbled as she took in the sight before her: gleaming metal interwoven together to create a space station unlike any other. "This is amazing!" Atlas exclaimed, spinning on a circle a few feet from the others. She stopped short when she saw the huge window that gave an incredible sight of the universe before her. She flew over to it, pressing a hand into the glass when she got close enough. _ **Daddy would've loved this,**_ she said.

 _ **He would've been proud, you know,**_ Batman told her.

He felt her smirk through their mental bond. _**So would yours.**_ "Can we get a tour, please?" Atlas asked. Batman said nothing, only turning and walking towards the elevators. He didn't need extra senses to know that if Atlas followed, so were the others. If he was the brain, there was no doubt she was the heart.

 **~*ATT*~**

 ** _As I was re-watching the pilot episodes, I didn't particularly like the aliens they had, so I decided to switch it up. I swear on my life, when I saw the Imperium, I said to myself : "He looks like a blob of snot and suffering." And I can't have a villain that I don't like. Ma'alefa'ak is an interesting facet to J'onn's character, and its both sad and awesome. I hope you enjoy!_**

 ** _Also, I used Google Translate for the Greek, so let me know if I got anything wrong._**


End file.
